Question Can I Use Smartphone Just as a Camera and/or GPS Navigation system without having a service provider???

[audioresearch]

I have never owned a smartphone and know next to nothing about them.

I wish to use a smartphone as only a camera and be able to transfer photos from it to my pc and/or use as a gps navigation system and/or use to get onto the internet with wifi connected to my home wifi router and I want to be able to do all this without ever once signing up with any service provider for voice or data.

I have read that one can download maps for later use by the Google Maps and so I would plan on, if I am allowed to do this, downloading a map for the local geographic area I am in using wifi to connect to the internet (if I am allowed to do that) and then use Google Maps with that pre-loaded map. When I say "if I am allowed to do that" I mean if the phone is not setup to block my doing that without having a cellphone voice/data plan active.

I currently use my laptop with a mapping application to do exactly that, so it certainly can be done in theory if not blocked. My laptop will display a local map (it has the entire USA already in maps stored on hard drive) and it will use a usb gps radio I plug in to show me where I am located on that map in real time.

So, can I do any of this? Can I do it on most or all models of smartphone? What do I have to do for most or all smartphones do be able to do what I want? What I do already know is that some smartphones are "locked" to a given service provider and won't do much if anything unless a service plan is active with that provider.

I have seen "unlocked" phones for sale on Ebay and I assume that gets around any problems where the phone is disabled from doing things unless a service plan is active with a provider. Does it?

I consider the prices for "data" service on smartphone to be a huge ripoff and so I always use my home pc for file downloads or anything else that eats up a high bandwidth. In general, for reasons of cost, I would never want to have service from a voice/data provider. I pay $50/month and I get unlimited data in actual practice and I probably use up around 50gb per month for the cost of that $50. So that is why I am asking if I can do the above things on most or all smartphones without having a service plan from a provider.

Thanks very much for any help.


Audioresearch

 

[methodman89]

It shouldn't be a problem to do what you want. It's basically a small Wi-Fi tablet if you never get a Sim card /service provider.

 

[audioresearch]

I just bought a TCL 30z smartphone at Walmart. Based on what is printed on its box and literature, it seems to be locked to Tracfone Straight Talk.

I charged its battery and installed it. I assume the sim card is already installed since there was no detached sim card in the package.

But the phone is just totally dead. Nothing shows on the screen.

Again, although I do know a small amount about smartphones, mostly I am not knowledgable and so maybe I just don't know how to power up the phone. I tried pressing on the screen every where in hopes that I would be hitting a power up button somewhere, but so far no luck and I don't see any physical power switch. Am I missing something?

 

[methodman89]

From what I read, you have a dual Sim and expandable storage if you get a micro SD card.
To turn on, try the following,

Connect the charger to your phone and an outlet. Charging status is indicated by the percentage on screen while the phone is powered off. The percentage increases as the phone are charged. Power on your phone. Hold down the Power key until the phone powers on,

 

[audioresearch]

Oh, I just discovered the problem. I was running the phone without the battery cover and I just saw that there is a physical power on-off switch in the cover itself which faked me out. Now the phone comes on.

 

[audioresearch]

I've been experimenting with the camera. The photos are low resolution and the videos are very jerky. Is this typical for a smartphone that costs around $100 or less? If so, about what do you think I have to spend to get a camera that takes high res still photos & videos and videos that don't jerk around?

 

[fuzzylumpkin]

I've been experimenting with the camera. The photos are low resolution and the videos are very jerky. Is this typical for a smartphone that costs around $100 or less? If so, about what do you think I have to spend to get a camera that takes high res still photos & videos and videos that don't jerk around?

Yeah, cheap nasty phone, cheap nasty camera. Basically you have to spend however much a pixel 6A is at the moment.

 

[methodman89]

There are Samsung S9 and S10s for sale in the 200 range that have excellent cameras.

 

[B. Diddy]

Here's a new Pixel 4 for $150 on Woot: https://electronics.woot.com/offers/new-google-pixel-4z?ref=w_cnt_lnd_cat_elec_2_37

 

[methodman89]

Is the camera on the Pixel 4 good? My Pixel 3 camera is not near the quality of my S9+.

 

[B. Diddy]

Is the camera on the Pixel 4 good? My Pixel 3 camera is not near the quality of my S9+.

I've always been able to take great pics on all of my Pixels (XL, 2 XL, 3 XL, 3a XL, 6 Pro, and now 7 Pro). I don't have an S9, but I do have an A32 5G, which has similar camera hardware and software as that generation, and I personally prefer the Pixel Camera's results over Samsung's. Samsung tends to make colors very vibrant, sometimes to a fault, which has long been a criticism -- but there are certainly many people who prefer that look. Also, a common criticism of Samsung cameras (even those of current flagships) is their difficulty with capturing action -- Pixel's camera is significantly better at that.

 

[audioresearch]

I'm now trying to get Google Voice working on this Alcatel TCL 30z smartphone. I can't get it to make outgoing calls. The "call" icon is always greyed out. I successfully make outgoing calls on Google Voice often using my pc and I believe I am doing everything the same within Google Voice while trying it now on the TCL smartphone. In fact, I've been using Google Voice two different ways on this phone and I get the same greyed out "call" button: using the Google Voice website through the Firefox browser and also installing the Google Voice app on the phone.

When trying to place outgoing calls, I usually get a popup box saying I need to enable wifi calling. I do that over and over again. I get no error messages, but yet I keep getting asked to enable wifi calling over and over again and so I think that when I click to enable wifi calling, it is simply not happening.

I get the impression that it is somehow blocked. My phone, the Alcatel TCL 30z is a so-called "Straight Talk Wireless" model and I suspect that Straight Talk is somehow blocking the enabling of wifi calling. I have not purchased any data/talk/texting airtime from Straight Talk.

How could Straight Talk be blocking the enabling of WiFi calling? I am also not allowed to uninstall certain apps such as "Phone". Is the Android 12 that is running some kind of special modified version for Straight Talk that lets Straight Talk do such things as blocking the enabling of WiFi? If this Android is not a special modified version then where exactly does Straight Talk worm its way into my phone to block certain things-maybe something in the phone hardware that might be similar to the Bios in a pc? Maybe the SIM card?

Let me shoot for the moon here with some trickier questions.

Is there a way I can install my own "clean" version of Android into this phone to eliminate all traces of Straight Talk having anything to do with the phone? Would I have to load anything else also to clear the phone of Straight Talk such as perhaps some type of firmware?

If I bought a phone advertised as factory unlocked, would such a phone have no restrictions such as blocking the enabling of wifi calling, or does "factory unlocked" usually mean a very limited unlocking that only allows me to put the phone on most or all providers' service plans as opposed to being locked to only one provider?

Is it likely that if I never sign up for any Straight Talk plans, that Straight Talk would disable my phone so I could not use it for tasks such as browsing the web or running apps such as google maps?

If Straight Talk controls my phone through, say, the SIM card (just guessing), could I get rid of Straight Talk by removing the SIM card and would my phone still work offline (no cellphone voice/texting/data service) as if it were, say, a tablet including having wifi access to the internet?

 

[rvbfan]

WiFi calling is a carrier enabled feature just like voice mail. If they don't allow it on your plan, you'd either have to switch plans or carriers.

 

[methodman89]

Let me shoot for the moon here.

Is there a way I can install my own "clean" version of Android into this phone to eliminate all traces of Straight Talk having anything to do with the phone? Would I have to load anything else also to clear the phone of Straight Talk such as perhaps some type of firmware?

If I bought a phone advertised as factory unlocked, would such a phone have no restrictions such as blocking the enabling of wifi calling, or does "factory unlocked" usually mean a very limited unlocking that only allows me to put the phone on most or all providers' service plans as opposed to being locked to only one provider?

Is it likely that if I never sign up for any Straight Talk plans, that Straight Talk would disable my phone so I could not use it for tasks such as browsing the web or running apps such as google maps?

Some phones have a way, during boot up, of bypassing the carrier splash screen. Do an internet search on yours to see if it's able.
As far as the post above, you should be able to use wifi calling with a Google voice number.

 

[audioresearch]

I started Googling this. Maybe I have to "root" the phone's Android system. Haven't yet found if I can "root" or flash a sim card to have some sort of hacker firmware in it to let me do what I want on my phone.

 

[rvbfan]

I'm now trying to get Google Voice working on this Alcatel TCL 30z smartphone. I can't get it to make outgoing calls. The "call" icon is always greyed out. I successfully make outgoing calls on Google Voice often using my pc and I believe I am doing everything the same within Google Voice while trying it now on the TCL smartphone. In fact, I've been using Google Voice two different ways on this phone and I get the same greyed out "call" button: using the Google Voice website through the Firefox browser and also installing the Google Voice app on the phone.

When trying to place outgoing calls, I usually get a popup box saying I need to enable wifi calling. I do that over and over again. I get no error messages, but yet I keep getting asked to enable wifi calling over and over again and so I think that when I click to enable wifi calling, it is simply not happening.

I get the impression that it is somehow blocked. My phone, the Alcatel TCL 30z is a so-called "Straight Talk Wireless" model and I suspect that Straight Talk is somehow blocking the enabling of wifi calling. I have not purchased any data/talk/texting airtime from Straight Talk.

How could Straight Talk be blocking the enabling of WiFi calling? I am also not allowed to uninstall certain apps such as "Phone". Is the Android 12 that is running some kind of special modified version for Straight Talk that lets Straight Talk do such things as blocking the enabling of WiFi? If this Android is not a special modified version then where exactly does Straight Talk worm its way into my phone to block certain things-maybe something in the phone hardware that might be similar to the Bios in a pc? Maybe the SIM card?

Let me shoot for the moon here with some trickier questions.

Is there a way I can install my own "clean" version of Android into this phone to eliminate all traces of Straight Talk having anything to do with the phone? Would I have to load anything else also to clear the phone of Straight Talk such as perhaps some type of firmware?

If I bought a phone advertised as factory unlocked, would such a phone have no restrictions such as blocking the enabling of wifi calling, or does "factory unlocked" usually mean a very limited unlocking that only allows me to put the phone on most or all providers' service plans as opposed to being locked to only one provider?

Is it likely that if I never sign up for any Straight Talk plans, that Straight Talk would disable my phone so I could not use it for tasks such as browsing the web or running apps such as google maps?

If Straight Talk controls my phone through, say, the SIM card (just guessing), could I get rid of Straight Talk by removing the SIM card and would my phone still work offline (no cellphone voice/texting/data service) as if it were, say, a tablet including having wifi access to the internet?

To do what you are asking for ( no sim calling texting ) you'd have to use something like whatsapp. Only issue I think is that the other person would also have to have it. Not 100% sure on this though, haven't used these apps in a looong time. As for maps, you might be able to download maps and use them offline but again not sure.

 

[audioresearch]

To do what you are asking for ( no sim calling texting ) you'd have to use something like whatsapp. Only issue I think is that the other person would also have to have it. Not 100% sure on this though, haven't used these apps in a looong time. As for maps, you might be able to download maps and use them offline but again not sure.

I have been able to use Google Maps offline. I downloaded some maps for offline use and they remain on the machine and work even with no wifi connection or cell provider service. The camera also works offline. But this phone's camera is not good quality so I'm probably going to return the phone and get what someone recommended for a good camera, a Google Pixel 6A.

 

[rvbfan]

I have been able to use Google Maps offline. I downloaded some maps for offline use and they remain on the machine and work even with no wifi connection or cell provider service. The camera also works offline. But this phone's camera is not good quality so I'm probably going to return the phone and get what someone recommended for a good camera, a Google Pixel 6A.

6a or 7a. 7a is not much more expensive and a pretty big upgrade over the 6a. Good choice either way.